I went to Goodwill (a thrift store), the other day, as I do when I want to pick-up something needed for the house, or just to do a little historical reflection on what has been valued and devalued over the years. As I entered the electronics section, I passed 7 or 8 old televisions, turned on and displaying the evening news. I would have ignored this on most days. But as I passed I could not help but hear a change occurring in the mainstream media. A local anchor was telling the story about translators from Iraq, who had risked their lives to help our military. He was describing how the Department of Justice in the US had guaranteed these people safety. If they felt they were in danger, they could ask to be moved to the US and the government would provide them housing and help them with employment. As it turns out, in truth what was happening, was the translators who asked for relocation were dropped into the worst and most dangerous public housing in the US, with no furniture and with rents of $1300 per month which they could not pay. They faced homelessness. They had no job and no assistance was provided as promised. Their children could only safely play indoors. It was a nightmare.
Although this story was compelling there was something else I noticed as it was being reported by this anchor. He was actually critical of the Department of Justice. And at the end of the story he said, the Department of Justice refused to reply to inquiries. I thought, a few months ago, this reporter would not have been allowed to be critical of our government. But now, he and so likely his boss too, felt compelled to tell a story about government wrong-doing, and to be critical. This is a change; A good change; And it is one that I believe has occurred because of the Snowden and Julian Assange revelations, and not only their leaks, but how the whistle-blowers and the press who broke their stories feared for their lives. How it became perfectly clear that our mainstream media had lost their right to freedom of the press and were instead a tool for government propaganda. But lately, I have watched as many reporters seem to be changing and now choose to stand together in response to the bullying by our government of those who attempt to tell the truth. So finally on that old TV at Goodwill, I witnessed my first glimpse of a small mainstream media reporter, willing to speak out. It seems much more possible now, that more reporters and news outlets will begin to tell all sides to a story, perhaps with a little fear, but also with a sense of duty and honor, as they used to do. What a welcome change that will be.
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